Day in the museum

CANASTOTA – Walking around the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum was like dancing with the stars. It was an incredible experience reliving the past by imagining ring legends in action as they mesmerized fans with their skills, power and charisma.

The museum itself isn’t that large, about 300 square meters in size. There’s a red carpet that welcomes visitors into the front door. A receptionist Rachel DiVeronica sits behind the counter to greet guests as they enter. If you stay at the Days Inn hotel across the street, you get a free pass. Otherwise, adults pay $10 for an entrance ticket, youth 7-15 years old $6.50 and kids six years old and under aren’t charged.

There isn’t much to see in this upstate New York village on the south side of Lenox town in Madison County, some 140 miles north of New York City. Canastota’s population is about 5,000. A Dunkin’ Donuts and a McDonald’s are within walking distance from Days Inn. The village’s claim to fame is the Hall of Fame and Museum. It is often referred to as “the epicenter of upstate New York’s rich boxing heritage.”

At least thrice a year, Hall of Fame executive director Ed Brophy organizes events to entice fight fans and personalities to visit the boxing shrine. The big deal is the four-day induction weekend in June when ring figures from all over the world descend on the “epicenter.” Beside the museum is a 500-square meter pavilion which serves as an exhibit hall, gift shop and “home” of the actual Madison Square Garden ring that was used from 1925 to 2007.

Brophy said the oldest artifact in the museum dates back to the turn of the century. On display are the right glove used by “Terrible” Terry McGovern and the left glove used by George Dixon in their featherweight title bout in Chicago in 1900. Two TV monitors are mounted showing boxing videos during exhibit hours – 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Another “old” artifact is the 1912 souvenir program of the 45-round world heavyweight title fight between “Fireman” Jim Flynn and Jack Johnson in Las Vegas. Johnson knocked out Flynn in the ninth round. In one corner of the museum is a pair of training gloves used by Joe Louis in 1942.

* * * *

What catches your eye are the bronze-cast fists of over 40 fighters, including Lennox Lewis, Roberto Duran, Erik Morales, Carlos Ortiz, Alexis Arguello, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jeff Fenech, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Floyd Patterson, Archie Moore, Aaron Pryor, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Morales is an exception as he is still active. A separate section shows 10 bronze castings from Dr. Walter Jacobs’ collection of fighters from the 1920s to 1940s like Primo Carnera (the biggest at 14 1/2 inches), Tony Canzoneri and Benny Leonard.

Robes worn by fighters add a distinct flair to the museum. Some are colorful, others drab but the design isn’t as important as to who wore them. Flash Elorde’s robe (white with blue letters identifying “Flash Elorde” over a Philippine emblem and the word Philippines) is neatly folded in a glass case under Azumah Nelson’s robe and beside Michael Spinks’ robe. Elorde’s fighting shoes are exhibited in another section of the museum. Other fighters with robes on display are Ken Buchanan, Marlon Sterling, Bob Foster, Rocky Graziano, Sugar Ramos, Arturo Gatti, Ruben Olivares, Pipino Cuevas, Vito Antuofermo, Pernell Whitaker, Tommy Morrison, Terry Norris and Eusebio Pedroza.

Mouthpieces are also in the exhibit, contributed by Mike Tyson, Fred Apostoli, Hector Camacho and Henry Armstrong. Bat Battalino, who campaigned in 1929-32, has a tribute glass case with his mouthpiece, boxing shorts and cup protector. Journalist Bert Randolph Sugar has his own display with a bronzed casting of his hand holding up his trademark cigar beside a black typewriter. Other items of interest are lightheavyweight Melio Bettina’s headgear, Carlos Palomino’s gloves that he wore in stopping John Stracey for the welterweight title in London in 1976, Khaosai Galaxy’s gloves and boxing shorts, the bell mechanism used at the Luna Park in Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1987, heavyweight king Vitaly Klitschko’s gloves and shoes he wore in defeating Kirk Johnson in 2003, Bobby Czyz’ glittering fight shoes, fight tickets, souvenir programs, boxing posters and referee Joe Cortez’ blue shirt.

* * * *

The highlight is the frame portraits of the Hall of Fame inductees under the categories of Oldtimers, Modern Fighters, Pioneers, Non-Participants and Observers. I felt a glow of pride all over me when I saw the portraits of Filipino inductees Elorde, Pancho Villa and Lope (Papa) Sarreal Sr.

 Separate displays pay tribute to great heavyweight fighters Sonny Liston, Frazier, Tyson, Jim Corbett, Ali, Patterson, John Sullivan, Evander Holyfield, Rocky Marciano, Jack Sharkey, Max Baer, Jack Dempsey and Ezzard Charles. More exhibits fall under the sections Tale of the Tape, the Manassas Mauler, a three-dimension art piece on the “World of Boxing,” the Bible of Boxing (the museum owns only one of four complete sets of the monthly publication The Ring Magazine from 1922), Fights of the Year (from 1945 between Graziano and Cochrane to 1991 between Holyfield and Foreman), History in the Making, Golden 50s and “Where Boxing History Was Made” – a tribute to Madison Square Garden, championship belts dating back to the 1940s. There’s also a photo of the fabled New York City sweatshop Times Square Gym owned by Jimmy Glenn and where the likes of Duran, Larry Holmes, Tyson and Marciano used to train.

Manny Pacquiao is recognized in a section of the “Greatest Fighters” in the lightweight class. His framed picture hangs on a wall with those of Mando Ramos, Duran, Ike Williams, Harry Jaffra, Julio Cesar Chavez, Gatti, Greg Haugen and Whitaker.

The museum has three life-sized statues, two of which honor Canastota natives Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus. The third is a sculpture of a 20th century fighter that was once displayed at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.

If you’re a sports fan, especially if you’re a boxing fan, you’ve got to include a visit to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum in your bucket list.

Postscript. Special thanks to my sister Irene for driving us over from New Hampshire to Canastota for an overnight visit to the boxing shrine.